Well-drilling tool



Apu r27 192s 1;,582-,253 E. K. LANE vWELL DRILLING Toon Filed Sept. 19, 1922 '2 Sheets-Sheefyl TMFNEYJY April 27 1926-.

' E. K. LANE l WELL DRILLING TOOL Filed Sept. 19, 1922 2 Sheets-5heet 2 Patented Apr. 21'?, 1926;

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. y EDWARD K. LANE, DLF VENTURA, CALIFORNIA.

'WELL-DBILLING- TOOL.

Application filed September 19, i922. Serial No. (item15.

tools which are attached to the end of aA string of drill pipe and are thereby rotated sodthat the cutting edges thereof will operate upon the subterranean structure being penetrated.

In the rotary system of drilling wells, 1t is often necessary to employ undcrreamers to enlarge the newly `drilled portions of the hole below the lower end of the casing, so that the casing may be lowered into these newly drilled parts. In order to employ one of these standard underreamers, it is necessary to reise the `drill bit from the well and to place the underreamer upon the lower end of the drill pipe in place thereof. The time consumed in lowering and raising a drill pipe is often as great as the time spent in actual drilling, this time spent in raising and lowering the -tool ,from the well, of course, being dependent entirely upon the depth of the hole. When an underreamer `must be used, it is necessary to lower and raise the drill pipe twice for each period of drilling, thus considerably slowing down the progress. rlhe fish tail bits used in rotary drilling are' provided with a pair ofdialnet ally disposed cutting edges and due to this characteristic formation, the tool has the tendency to `iump around in the hole when in operation, and especially when `drilling through unevenly 'formed strata.

In order to sharpen the fish tail bit, it is necessary to remove the tool from the end of the string of drill pipe and 'forge the blade back to proper shape,

lt is an object of my invention to provide u tool having an uneven number of cutting blades so that the cutting action thereof is stabilized, and having also incorporated therewith reamer blades which operate upon the 'side walls of the hole and thus maintain e full diameter bore into which the casing may be lowered kwithout the necessity of raising the string of drill pipe, placing an. nnderreamer thereon, and again lowering into the well, for the purpose of trimming up theside walls of the bore so that the caer ing will advance therein, as is necessary in the integral underreamcrs now employed.

It is also an object of the invention to pro-` vide a reamer construction, adapted t be employed in combination with a-drilling tool, having resiliently extendable 'roaming blades which are forced outward into contact with the side walls of the hole when the device is lowered below the bottom of the casing, and which recede into the body of the tool when it is lifted, thus allowing the tool to be lifted up through the casing when it is desired to renew the cutting and roaming blades of the tool.

The specific advantages of my invention and further object-s thereof will be made evident hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings which are for illustrative purposes only:

F 1g, l is an elevational View showing a combined drilling and roaming tool, embody-` ing the features of my invention, in the pro- Cess of drilling and reaming.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the tool vertically sectioned so as to disclose the interior arrangement of parts, the lower section of the body being sectioned upon a plane represented by the line 2-2 of Fig. 5.

' Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 2, in which the cutting blades are shown in the position they assume when being raised through a casing or into which they are depressed before lowering within the casing.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the lower section of the body before placement of the cutting blades.

' Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view similar to Fig. 4, showing the cutting blades in place.

Fig. 6 is a section taken upon a plane represented by the line tif-6 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a section through the upper body membeig-talren as indicated by the line 7--7 of Fig. Q. l

Fig. S is a view of the cutting blade.

ln the forni of my invention shown. I provide a body il which is comprised of upper and lower members l2 and 13. The upper member is provided with a tool joint pin l5 by which the tool may be ettched to the'lower end of a string of drill pipe i6. il trio of cutting blades 1S is mounted in the lower end of the member lf3, and a similar number of expansible underreaming blades 'i9 are supported in the upper body member l2. {behind-.es 1.9 lit into vertical siete 2o which lltl y the here extend radiallfgr from the outer face. ot the tool inward to a central bore The plates l5) are shorter than the slots 2G so that a vertial movementI of 'the blades within the' slots may be attained. Near the rearward edge 25 of each blade projecting pins E26 extend. outwardly into inclined grooves [i ornied in the side walls,.,ot' the slots 20. En Fig. 2 the roaming blades 1Q are shown in their ppermost position within the slots 2t). ln this position of the blades, the projections ttrest in the outer and upper ends 3G of the `grooves 2T, and the blades are in extended position. B v moving the blades if) iilownwardhv in the slots 2t), the projec tions 26 are caused to travel inwardljvY in the slots 2T, thus reti-acting the blades into 'the position in which they are shown in Fie"r l provide a means tor normally holdingl the blades lf) in raised position as shown in Fig. 2, this means consisting' ot a sleeve having a radial. cupped. enlargement on the lower end thereof which rests in the enlarged boreA 233 atl the lower end ot the member 12, an' is torced against the lower edges oi' the ilades it) bv a hear)v .spring S3. rl`he sprinhvl holds the member :ll resilientlY in raised position, and due lo vthe fact that the cupped enlargement thereof is in contact with the lower edges 3l ot' the blades7 the blades are. also resilientl).Y maintained in raised position, in which yraised position thejy are also extended. lVhen it is desired to lower the tube into the well, the blades are compresi'ed into the slots 20. The inward movement of the blade is accompanied by a downward n'iovement thereof owing to the engagement of the projections with the grooves QT. thus the blades i9 when depressed, assume positionsat the bottom ot their respective slots. and the member El .forced downwardly as indicated in Eig'. il, compressi ne a springr 35.

An axial hole 53S is provided in the mem` ber 12 havingA connection through a tubular member ilil with an avial hole it) in the mem. ber lll. tor the purpose of delivering mud to the cutting' ele-ments ot the tool when the dcrice is in operation. ln order to prevent the entrance ot' mud into the bore 22 and the 'bottom ot' the bore so that mud entering throughthe hole 38 will be directed bjr the tubular member o9 into the passage -fltl in the lower bor member ll. The sleeve ll surrounds the member 39 and may slide t'reelyA up or down thereupon. vl`he blades if) are placed in the slots 2O through the bore lfl. the projections 26 entering the groores QT through the here L' lt is the purpose ot the sleeve 3l to close 0l" .against the entrance mud.

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on. the lower end ot the tubular member 2li extends into a counteroore 5:22 which .is

shaped term a. tight. joint be .n the tnbular member 3l) and the member lil, so that. no leakage oi mud into the bore 32T may eeeur around the end 5l or the tuluilar meer bei'.

l have -found' that where an even nrnnber of cutting blades is employed, the tendency towards chattering more pronounce when an uneven number of hl- `vided. blades lf L the eu.

.. l too o '1. et that where a hard spoter pl ject-ion is encountered by one blade, the two opposite blades serve to oppose radial mfr tion of the tool7 so that the oneountering` blade cannot pass around the obstruction as happens with the use ot two bladed drilling' tools. l.Then drilling` with a lish tail bit;y a projection at one side oit the hole will cause the formation ot' an et pocket at the other side with the resti v that the blades consecutively jog back and forth betweenthe projection and the pocket without ae complishing much reduction ol the obstruction. The blades 1S provided, being radial in directiona are pitched s lfrhtlj,7 toi-ward,

. t. K or 1n other words, the inner laces titl thereof are tangential to the circumference of the retaining` pin Gl employed tor holdim the blades 1S in place in the member lil. i'

ln the formation ot the lower end et the member 13 a central hole G5 is drilled which is eounterbored at its outer end as indicated at G6. lladially and tangentially with rcspeel; to the hole G5, slots G7 are out in the member ll'as best shown in Fig. 'l. 'l`he blades 'lts' are constructed ol' flat steel which is properly/rr hardened alter 'being' t'ormed into thelshape shown in Fig. S. 'The inner edge G8 et each blade lo is notched as indicated at G9 to receive the outstandin oor. tions ot the head 70 ot the pin til. thas providing ineens for preventing the removal ot the blades from the slots unless the securingr pin is first released by withdrawine' loching pins 73 which engage a semi-,enculaigrooveil cuty near the upper end of the pin 6l.

the l their respete-r tive slots the blades. are arranged around the head 70 of the pin 61 and the entire ar- Ain the blade holder. blades lmay be very quickly removed and.

Vthe combination of: a

rangement slipped into entering the slotsland the into the bore 65, the head thereof being received in the counterbore 66. The locking pin 73, then passed through holes rovided in the body 13, engage the channe 74 and prevent the pin and the blades being remoil/ed or from coming loose while in the Wel.

Une of the diiliculties encountered in the attempted construction of replaceable blade drilling tools is the lack of strength both in the blades and theholder, with the result that the blades are apt to be broken oil' Within thewell. The construction I have developed provides a very Wideblade structure as well as considerable strength Furthermore, the

place, the blades replaced. If required, a stock of cutting blades 18 and underreaming blades 19 may be provided and the blades of the tool renewedeach time it is raised to the surface..

' which extend lVhen the tool is dra-wn from the well, the reamer blades 19 are engaged by the lower end s,l f the casing and are thus moved relative y downward in the slots as the tool is lifted Within the casing. The downward movement of the blades in the slot is accompanied by an inward movement of the blades 19, due to the engagement vof the'projections 26 with the grooves 27, which converge as they advance down-` wardly; thus the blades 19 are retracted due to their engagement with the lower end 80 of the casing, and pass into the casing in closed arrangement, such as shown in Fig. 3, and offer no resistance against the lifting of the tool to the-surface.

-I claim as my invention:

1. In a well drilling and roaming tool, l body adapted to be attached' to a rotatable member; reaming blades having vertically disposed cutting edges radial] and axially movably supported by saidy body; means in said body for extending said blades when they are moved in one axial direction and for retracting y said blades when they are moved in the opi said forcing means being disposed around an posite axial direction; and means for rcsilicntly forcing said blades 1n the axial direction in which said blades are extended,

axially extending tubular member which has the function ot conveying liquid through said body.

pin extending up of said blades,

2. Afdevice, as in claim 1, in which said blades are supported in slots in said body said blades.

3. A device as in claim 1 in which said blades are supported in slots in said body which extend radially, from the surface of said body, inwardly to an axial .bore in said body; and in which device said forcing .means consists of a. sleeve axially movable in said bore having a radial enlargement at. one end thereof and extending over the ends of said blades, and a spring acting to force the said radial enlargement aGainstthe ends of said blades, sai Sleeve tbeing slidable upon said tubular member.

4. A device as in' claim 1 in which sas blades are supported in slots in said body said body, inwardly to an axial bore in said radially, from the surface oi? body; and in which device said forcing means consists of a sleeve in said bore havinnr one end thereof antd of said blades, the said radial a radial enlargement at extending over the ends and a spring acting to force enlargement against the ends said sleeve being slidable upon said tubular member, and in which said tubular memberis threaded into said body and has a disc formed upon the outer end thereof and adapted to compress said spring against saidy radial enlargement on said sleeve.

5. A device, as in claim y1, having separatelyformed and radially disposed cutting blades for operating upon the bottoni of the hole being drilled, and al tubular mem# ber to conduct ubricating liquid, past said reaming blades, toward said cutting blades.

6. A device, as in claim 1, which includes a blade holderwhich is threaded into the lower end of said body and has cutting blades in its lower end for operating upon thebottom of the hole being drilled, said blade holder having a passage for 'directing lubricating liquid from said tubular niember tosaid cutting blades.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Ventura, California, this 12 day of Sept. 1922. Y

EDWARD KILANE.

axially movable lit? 

